


Memories and Mistletoe

by thefilm_blossom



Category: SF9 (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Office, Christmas Fluff, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-11 00:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28342641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefilm_blossom/pseuds/thefilm_blossom
Summary: Seokwoo and Chanhee may be happily in love and leaving chaos in their wake at work, but it wasn't always that way.
Relationships: Kang Chanhee | Chani/Kim Seokwoo | Rowoon
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19
Collections: SF9 Secret Santa Fic Exchange 2020





	Memories and Mistletoe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [PEGCHANGMIN](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PEGCHANGMIN/gifts).



> dearest peach
> 
> I forgot to add this note before, but! I really hope you like this gift! I hope you had an amazing festive season and that this brings you plenty of joy 💓

It could be said that the Christmas season often brought out the silliness in people. Maybe it was the association with childhood, or the amount of Christmas parties, but everyone’s hearts seemed lighter during the festive season, their joy manifesting in many ways. For some, it was more subtle, but for others, people were more than aware. None such was the case of Seokwoo, who was even more sappy and talkative than usual, and Chanhee, who had for once refrained from most of his snark. The combined result? The most chaotic Christmas their office had ever seen.

“Seokwoo? You haven’t refilled the copier again!” an aggravated voice yelled from the corner of the room, eyes scanning to find the aforementioned male, but without success, “where has he gone now?! It’s like he’s not even working these days!”

“He’s probably on second floor, as usual” came a slightly exasperated reply from another employee sat at a nearby desk, “he’s always been a little goofy, but this is getting ridiculous…”

Still just as irritated, the first voice responded, “Well now he’s not even doing his job anymore! Why on earth won’t he just do as he’s supposed to?!”

Almost as if on cue, Seokwoo burst through the doors, singing cheerfully to himself as he headed back to his desk, completely oblivious to the conversation that had just taken place.

Glancing at each other as though to wordlessly prove each other’s points, the two employees continued on with their work.

It was as Seokwoo sat down however that his fellow co-worker decided to interrogate him by herself, having overheard the earlier conversation.

“So, what did he do this time?”

“He didn’t have to do anything, I just happened to bump into him when heading back up and we just got talking, that’s all!” was the cheery reply, accompanied by Seokwoo’s bright smile, the giddy looking one that always seemed to appear whenever Chanhee was involved. Believing the conversation was over, he turned back to his work, though not without the addition of him beginning to hum various carols as he did so.

Clearing her throat, his colleague tapped him on the shoulder before adding.

“I’m glad you’re happy, but the copier needs refilling, Seok.”

With all the colour immediately draining from his face, Seokwoo leapt up, as though to immediately dash off to fix his mistakes but stopped in his tracks as the door once again opened, Chanhee walking through it not a second later, the needed paper in his hands.

“Think you forgot something again” he said quietly once he had made his way over, putting it on the desk of a spectacularly silent Seokwoo.

“Do you have any idea how much I love you?” was the eventual response, of course once his brain had caught up enough with the present, lightly pecking the top of the smaller male’s head affectionately.

“Yes, a lot, I’m aware!” Chanhee surprisingly cheerily answered – they were rubbing off on each other too much, it seemed – “and I love you too” he added with a tiny grin before turning around and heading out of the room, leaving Seokwoo even more heart-eyed than prior, taking a few moments to watch the younger exit before finally sitting down again.

“So!” came the now intrigued voice of his nearby colleague, “you two are doing well, I see! I’m sure you’re like this every year, yes?”

“Well…” Seokwoo paused, thinking for a second before responding, “sort of? It’s a long story, but it started when we were at university….”

* * *

They had met in the first year, during a particularly cold winter. Despite their age gap, which was around 4 years difference due to Seokwoo having taken his sweet, sweet time to decide on what to major in, they were both in the same class. But first the tables had to turn, and turn they would, just in time for merry December.

With assignment deadlines approaching, Chanhee had chosen to dedicate a lot of his time to them, not wanting to fall behind. He’d never exactly been a teacher’s pet or anything ridiculously along those lines, he just worked hard, that was all it ever was. Unfortunately, he had been partnered up with the worst person possible.

Seokwoo.

Always talking, never listening, too damn tall for his own good and Chanhee hated his guts.

_seok: hey chani! I have a new idea for our project!!!!_

Speaking of the devil.

_chani: . . ._

_seok: so, what we’re going to do is!!_

Chanhee would have thrown his phone at the wall if he didn’t have any self-composure. It was an English Lit course, not a chance to write any fanfiction that popped into that beanstalk’s head. It was the assignment he’d done the least work on and he really hated everything about it. What made it worse was the fact that Seokwoo seemed to be completely oblivious to just about everything. If they managed to even scrape a pass he’d probably call it a miracle of sorts.

But that was only if.

_chani: okay okay okay, we need to talk about this  
another way, let’s meet before class tomorrow?_

_seok: I can do that! meet you in the quad at 12!_

At least that would keep the nuisance out of his hair for the meantime.

Seokwoo on the other hand, was a little confused, what with Chanhee being so unexplainable all the time. He would never sound frustrated until he was, and sometimes it just seemed to come out of nowhere. Seokwoo himself was by no means unintelligent, he just happened to occasionally be a tad slow on the uptake at times. If he was overbearing, he had no knowledge of it. And so, he planned to find out what on earth was so wrong with himself that very next day.

* * *

He’d been stood on the quad for 5 minutes by the time Chanhee had turned up, grumbling about some sort of laundry. With most of the on-campus areas packed with fellow students, they’d decided to head into the city centre, where Seokwoo knew of a great seasonal café. Surrounded by every possible reminder of the soon-to-be upcoming festive season did seem to at least wear down Chanhee’s irritation, but the conversation was not exactly sound.

“So... about our assignment? What were you trying to jabber on about last night?” Chanhee queried almost a little too monotonously, which received a definitely bewildered expression from the taller of the two.

“Jabber? I was trying to help give out ideas, we’re struggling, right?” was the very oddly subdued answer, and now even Chanhee could feel the twinges of guilt plucking at him, yet he still stood his ground.

“Yes, yes we’re struggling, but that doesn’t mean you can text me every five seconds”

Seokwoo’s usually exuberant enthusiasm had faded quicker than he was able to talk, “I don’t, do I?..”

“Well, yes, you do, and you’re always so loud!” the younger added, although as he spoke, his venting didn’t seem to be doing any good. In all honesty, the twinges had been getting much worse, especially at the sight of the taller male beginning to wilt, not unlike a flower.

There was a horridly long pause before Seokwoo finally spoke again.

“Maybe we shouldn’t work together for this then. I’ll email through, if you’d like,”

And suddenly, Chanhee felt like this talk was entirely pointless. All he had done was offend and upset somebody due to his own personal issues with the male. Seokwoo might have been talkative, occasionally distracted and extremely unfairly tall, but it didn’t mean those things were necessarily his fault, whereas Chanhee’s disposition of dislike was.

“No, don’t do that,”

Seokwoo would have been certain that he was imagining things if he hadn’t seen Chanhee’s mouth move to utter the words. He had continued to be a little apprehensive, but had quietly sat down once more, intending to hear out what the younger male had to say.

“I don’t want to fail, and neither do you. You’re talkative, and I’m not really that talkative, but I was rude and annoyed at you for really pointless reasons. I’m sorry, I hope you’ll forgive me,”

Immediately, Seokwoo beamed, returning to his previous cheerful disposition before giving his response, “of course I forgive you! we’ll get this assignment sorted! I promise!”

It was over the next few weeks that the two continued to work on their assignment, meeting at the same café each time. Chanhee became more accustomed to Seokwoo’s enthusiasm, chatty nature and naturally, his unfair height, whilst Seokwoo began to learn that teasing Chanhee could be a worthy pastime, and that even the simplest action could earn back his forgiveness.

Before they knew it, the assignment was over, everything had been handed in and the end of the semester was drawing near – what had felt like years to Chanhee at first now felt like seconds. Time really did fly when he was with Seokwoo. And it could have been said that Seokwoo felt the same.

The next day, they both headed to the café, even though there was no more work to do. It seemed that in all fairness, they did enjoy each other’s company after all.

But this time was different in more ways than one.

They arrived in the midst of what seemed to be a restock, and a cheerful one at that, the café’s employees unpacking extra decorations and new supplies.

Not wanting to be in the way, they headed to their now usual spot in the corner, maintaining a casual conversation.

“And then, he said to me, ‘Seok, what’s your favourite colour?’ and I just had to say, ‘I don’t know!’ It was a disaster!”

“Seriously? Your favourite colour?” came Chanhee’s dismayed reply, head in hands as he for the umpteenth time questioned his friend’s sanity.

“Yes! I didn’t know!”

Sighing a little, Chanhee lifted his head up out of his hands.

And that’s when he saw it.

A carefully placed sprig of mistletoe, exactly above where they were sat.

He gulped.

“Hey, Seok?..” he began to say carefully, unsure of what he wanted to do. Go along with it? Back out? Not say anything at all? Well, he’d already ruined that last option, considering Seokwoo had begun to watch him eagerly, exactly like an overgrown puppy dog.

He wanted to back out, to ignore it, to do anything that would have meant he didn’t have to face the fact that maybe, just maybe, part of him wanted Seokwoo to notice and feel the same.

“Chani? Everything alright?”

It was impressive how Seokwoo could always seem to know these things, even if he didn’t always look like it.

“What would you do if I said something really silly?”

A little confused, Seokwoo tilted his head before responding, “what kind of silly?”

“There’s mistletoe above us”

Sure enough when he glanced up, there it was, white berries and all. But he wasn’t so much thinking about the mistletoe itself, as he was the fact that Chanhee had pointed it out.

Clearing his throat slowly, he prepared himself for what he was about to say.

“What would you do if I also said something silly?”

“Well, what kind of silly?” came Chanhee’s response, quieter than usual.

“Would you mind if I kissed you?”

Chanhee blinked, mildly in disbelief. And yet, there Seokwoo was, looking at him, for once without a word.

He had no intention to say no.

To give his answer, he leaned in, arms wrapping tightly around the taller male’s neck as their lips met ever so gently.

That was his answer.

* * *

“So! After that, it was pretty clear what was going on, and we’ve been together ever since!” Seokwoo declared proudly to all his fellow co-workers who had listened in to his story. It was only now that he noticed Chanhee stood in the doorway with their coats, clearly more than just a little embarrassed.

“Woonie, it’s home time,”

Time flies by when you’re in love.


End file.
